Announcements

Dear BCF members,
This forum has been running now for many years, and over that time we have seen many changes. Generalised forums are nowhere near as popular as they once were, and they have been very much taken over by blogs, vlogs and social media discussions. Running a forum well takes money, and a lot of care and attention, as there is so much which goes on behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly.
With all of this in mind, and after discussion within the current moderator team, the decision has been made to close this forum in its current format. I know that this will disappoint a lot of our long term members, but I want to reassure you that it's not a decision which has been taken lightly.
The remaining moderator team have agreed that we do not want to lose everything which is special about our home, and so we are starting a brand new facebook group, so that people can stay in touch, and discussions can continue. We can use it for free and should be easier for us to run (it won't need to be updated or hosted). We know not everyone has FaceBook, but we hope that those of you who are interested will join the group. We will share the link, and send invites as soon as we are ready to go. Added: We may as well get this going, find us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195289821332924/
The forum will close to new registrations, but will remain open for some time, to allow people to collect up any information, reading lists etc they need to, and to ensure they have contact details for those they wish to stay in touch with.
The whole team feel sad to say goodbye, but we also feel that it's perhaps time and that it feels like the right choice. We hope we can stay in touch with all of you through our new FaceBook group.
I personally want to thank everyone who has helped me moderate the forum, both in the past and the present, and I also want to thank every single person who has visited, and shared their love of books.. I'm so proud of everything we've achieved, and the home we built.
Please visit the new section in the Lounge section to discuss this further, ask questions etc.

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First up, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. The story is told by sixteen-year-old Starr, who lives in a black neighbourhood but goes to school in the suburbs. After gunfire breaks out at the party she's gone to, her old friend Khalil gives her a lift home, but they are stopped by a policeman, who shoots Khalil dead. What follows is how Starr, the only witness to the shooting, has to deal with her two separate lives at home and at school, alongside trying to do the right thing to get justice for Khalil.

Clearly inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, this is a totally compelling YA story, that puts you in the middle of Starr's life and the prejudice she must face, the dilemmas where she must chose between her two different social situations, and what she can do to make a difference. I found it hard to put down the book, and it gives you a very comprehensive insight into a black community, gangs and the impact of drug culture on the poorest areas of the US, and why there has become a need for BLM and other activism in society today. Not a comfortable read, but an important one, and proves how books allow you into a world that you can't experience first hand, and allow you to put yourself in someone else's shoes.

The next was The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and I found it difficult to put into words my feelings. I’d initially bought the book on sale on Kindle but when I started to read it, I kept finding my mind wandering, so I decided I’d try the audiobook instead but unfortunately that wasn’t much better either.I found I couldn’t engage with the characters and kept losing track of where I was in the story and going back a few minutes (or more) and listening again.I think it was because the writing felt like an external experience of what the characters were going through, instead of being there with them.I felt a remoteness from the story that I couldn’t get over, and unfortunately, I only really kept going because it was on my Round Robin challenge list.

I was disappointed in myself for not enjoying the book more, as I often enjoy books set in Indian, and am fascinated with the multitude of different perspectives you can have and the variety of society and stories that huge sub-continent and its history has to offer, but unfortunately, this book was not for me.

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I've also read Touch Not The Cat (loved it) and Middlesex (loved it) from the challenges to me list, and Miss Hargreaves (loved it) from the challenges by me list, but haven't written reviews for them yet. I must try and catch up with some reviews soon! I'm currently reading To Serve Them All My Days from the challenges to me list and it's so good, I'm rationing myself to a chapter a day so that I don't rush through it without savouring it.

That brings my totals up to having completed 7/9 of the books I was challenged to read, and 2/9 of the books I challenged others to read.

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Half way through the year! Completed The Radetzky March, yesterday, making it 5/9 of books I have been challenged with, and 3/9 of those I've challenged others with, 8/18 altogether, so just about on track (especially given the first half of the year has four days less than the second! ). TRM itself was definitely one of the better ones this half, a solid 4 stars, although I'd still put The Shell Seekers marginally in front on the top of the pile. Thanks for the challenge @Little Pixie

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Half way through the year! Completed The Radetzky March, yesterday, making it 5/9 of books I have been challenged with, and 3/9 of those I've challenged others with, 8/18 altogether, so just about on track (especially given the first half of the year has four days less than the second! ). TRM itself was definitely one of the better ones this half, a solid 4 stars, although I'd still put The Shell Seekers marginally in front on the top of the pile. Thanks for the challenge @Little Pixie